Sword of the Jedi: Stronghold
by DyanneNova
Summary: A group of terrorists coordinate attacks all over the galaxy, with one goal in mind: To bring about the destruction of the powerful and famous. The Jedi Order is spread too thin to become involved. The Imperial Remnant intends to take swift action. Jaina Solo finds that her allegiance isn't so clear cut in a battle that threatens everyone she holds dear.
1. Prologue

**45 ABY, Corellia**

The weather in Coronet City was trending warm this year and the rain of the previous week had rolled away from the bay, leaving the city to enjoy a carefree day in the sun. Glitz music could be heard echoing out of the more energetic cantinas into the streets. The Durasteel Blade was not that kind of cantina.

A young, blond woman sat in the corner of the dimly lit bar, watching the holofeed above the bartender's head, obviously waiting for something or someone. She wore casual clothing, but something about her told of a military life. She drummed her fingers impatiently against her empty glass as she looked around. The cantina was quite slow during this time of day. An elderly couple sat in one of the booths chatting, while a few businessmen at the bar boasted loudly about their latest deal.

A silver serving droid wandered over. "Another Elder Brother Ale?" asked the droid, primly.  
"Sure, and bring me two more while you're at it. Maybe they'll sense the ale getting warm and hurry their butts up," she replied.  
"I find that quite unlikely," the droid responded, "but I'll have those right up."  
The silver droid turned stiffly and walked away, no doubt already transmitting the order to the bar.

The bartender, a dark green Rodian with a golden suit and a grumpy demeanor, switched the holofeed from the droning financial reports through several channels. An old holodrama flickered by, starring the blonde bombshell Wynessa Starflare, before the bartender settled on the newsfeed broadcasting direct from Coruscant.

"… lower levels have been targeted. We suspect that the attacks are a minor, gang-related, issue, and that activity will abate after the recent Black Sun arrests. … Moving on to the Senate …"

"Syal!" a lanky man with close-cropped black hair shouted from across the bar as he walked towards her table, trailing a female, cream-colored, Bothan close behind.  
"Took the two of you long enough," Syal Antilles replied as they sat down. "Looks like you made it just in time," she said, nodding towards the droid heading their way with three dark red drinks perched on a tray.  
"Looks like it," Brand replied. He picked up one of the glasses, holding it up. "Seems like a toast is in order."  
The others held their glasses up in acknowledgement.  
"To good ale and moments of peace," he said.  
"And to not hating the people you work with," Chandra added.

Their glasses clinked together just as an explosion went off outside the bar, flinging black stone into the transparisteel windows that looked out into the square and shaking the walls of the cantina.

"What in chaos?" Brand exclaimed, dropping his glass, ducking to the floor, and pulling out his blaster as his colleagues did the same. The other patrons hid behind the bar as the waiting droid frantically cried out "We're doomed! All doomed!"

The three soldiers waited, watching the front for any sign of attack.

When it became clear that none was coming, Syal quickly motioned the other patrons into the basement, while Brand convinced the bartender to switch to the Coronet City news holofeed.

A sleek woman with brown hair appeared on the display, speaking calmly and professionally.

"Sita Lang here with breaking news in Coronet City. A large explosion has rocked the outskirts of the city. It appears to have been targeted at the CorSec office in the old town district. We are awaiting word on the casualty count and motive. It looks like our correspondent Kell Colton is on the scene now. Kell, what are we seeing out there?"

The display shifted to a young, somewhat disheveled man looking out from a balcony towards the square where a large section of the block is now nothing more than rubble. Black scorch marks streak surrounding buildings, and transparisteel shards litter the street. A copper Hologlide K16 cam droid hovered behind him for a moment, then flew closer to wreckage.

"We're looking at what used to be CorSec's office here in this district. You can see that the explosion appears to have originated from somewhere in the central portion of the building. We're still awaiting word from CorSec on how many officers may have been inside."

Sita's voice cut in. "And Kell, has there been any indication of who might be responsible for this attack?" she asked.

"There has not, as of right now the only word we've received is that the attackers are currently nameless," he replied.

The display cut to overhead footage from the cam droid, viewing the emergency workers digging through the rubble as they searched for survivors.

"We advise all citizens to stay indoors until we receive more information," Sita said. She began to repeat the message for those just tuning in.

"We should report back to the base," Syal said "If this is something larger we might be back on duty quicker than we thought."

* * *

The break room at the base was busy, filled with Galactic Alliance pilots and soldiers of all species grabbing caf and chatting between shifts. The white walls and bright lights offered little relief for the headache Brand was dealing with. Too much peace was not necessarily a good thing. He was only recently getting experience in that area.

The wall display cycled through news updates. The voiceover could barely be heard in the cacophony of the soldiers. Brand overheard a reference to the CorSec attack the previous month. "… still no word on the persons or group involved in the attack. Ten died in the explosion, thirty-two were injured. One officer is still in critical condition …"

He saw Syal enter the room out of the corner of his eye. That was not a happy expression on her face. He rubbed his eyes and looked up as his wing mate sat down at the table.

"Still no updates on that attack a month ago, huh?" he asked Syal.

Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail now, and she still wore her flight suit from a training mission earlier that day. "Nothing," she said, sighing and leaning back in her chair. "I've checked with my mother and sister. Intelligence has almost nothing to go on. CorSec assumes at this point that it was an inside job, but they still have no clue which officer perpetrated the attack, if it was actually an officer. No one had aired any grievances, no statement was issued, no names put forward for infamy's sake. It's definitely not your typical terrorist attack."

"Knowing the commander, I bet that has her more worried than if it were the Imperials or Chiss laying claim to the whole thing," Brand replied.

Syal looked around the room slowly. When she spoke, it was hushed and careful. "I'll be honest. I think it has my sister worried. And if it worries her, then it's worrying the Director of Galactic Alliance Intelligence, because things just don't bother Myri that easily."

"Great," Brand said wryly. He chugged his cup of caf and stood up. "So, training time?"

"Training time," Syal replied.


	2. Chapter 1

**46 ABY, Hapes**

"Jaina, we don't have to use the boat's full engine power the whole way to Reef Fortress," Jagged Fel said. The salt water formed large wakes behind them as the boat sliced through the choppy water. The sun beat down brightly on the couple, but felt cold as the ocean air slid over their faces and exposed arms.  
"We don't have to," Jaina Solo Fel replied, "but I don't know why I wouldn't."  
"Maybe because this is supposed to be a vacation?" Jag prodded, as he slid his arm around her waist. "And this may be the only alone time we get. You know Allana will be so excited to see you that I doubt we'll get a word in edgewise until dinner time."  
Jaina toned down the throttle just for a moment, enough time to lean over and plant a kiss on Jag's lips, then pushed the throttle forward as hard as it would go.  
"Then we better not keep her waiting," she said, smiling.

An hour later, her long brown hair whipped about in the wind as her brown eyes narrowed in focus. "I see reefs up ahead; we're almost there!" she said.  
She slowed down and carefully maneuvered through the maze of coral surrounding the Queen Mother's private island sanctuary. Eventually the fortress itself loomed up ahead, its tall, stone walls foreboding, even in the bright sunshine. From this angle Jaina could barely see the tower previously used as the Queen's bedchamber. She wondered if Tenel Ka kept the chamber as her own when she became monarch. Knowing Tenel Ka, the answer was likely to be yes. She wouldn't show weakness to her rivals by admitting that the assassination attempt she'd suffered there as a teenager had affected her in any way. Even after everything Jaina and her twin brother had been through, she often thought that Tenel Ka had suffered the worst of her Jedi classmates.

They pulled up to a small stone cove and docked the boat next to the large yacht, the only other vehicle in sight. "For a vacation home this is rather dismal," Jag said, looking around the craggy coastline.  
"This coming from someone who grew up with the Chiss?" Jaina teased. "Don't worry, you'll have all of the glamour of Hapan luxury inside. I doubt Tenel Ka has bothered with redecorating."  
They walked up the steep stone path, protected from ocean view by a high stone wall winding all around. Eventually they reached a thick door, reinforced with durasteel, Jaina knew, but to all appearances made up of beautiful carved coral and sleek black stone.  
A cam mounted on the sidewall swiveled towards them. Moments later Allana's voice sounded from the comm unit below. "I'm on my way down! Be ready for Anji to jump you, Jag!" Jag looked over at Jaina, the slightest concern visible on his normally impassive face.

Moments later the door opened, but it was Tenel Ka Djo who greeted them, not her ten-year-old daughter. Her long, red braids hung loosely around her face, a small tiara nestled in on top. She wore a loose green gown with gold hems; her rancor tooth lightsaber hanging on a loose gold baldric was the only visible concession made to her Jedi past.  
"Jaina, Jag, it is good to see you," Tenel Ka said.

Suddenly a large, feline creature, with four eyes and a wide, sharp grin, bounded down the stairs and dropped into a crouch, staring at the two visitors waiting in the doorway.

Tenel Ka sighed, and spoke calmly, but clearly enough to echo through the chamber. "Allana, where is Anji right now?"  
"Oops, sorry!" a small voice yelled from the top of the grand stone stairs. "I just have one more thing …"  
Anji started to growl. Jaina noticed Jag place his hand on his blaster and felt the first glimmering of concern. Maybe a child having a pet only she could control wasn't such a great idea.  
Then a blur of turquoise fabric and red hair bounded down the stairs, running towards Jaina, oblivious to the tension in the room. Jaina's niece hugged her tightly around her waist, then pulled away when she noticed her aunt's stiffness. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Allana, tell Anji to calm down please." Jaina said, nodding towards the nexu, who was now pacing and growling in concern and confusion, just two meters away.  
"Oh! Right." Allana reached out to Anji in the Force and reminded her pet that her aunt and uncle were family … or at the very least, not foes.  
Slowly Anji settled her spines and walked to the corner to curl up on a large pillow and watch patiently.

"I have something to show you! I've been working on it forever," Allana said to Jaina, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the stairs.  
"Allana, Jaina and Jag have been traveling for a good portion of the day," Tenel Ka said. "Perhaps we should show them their room and give them some time to freshen up before dinner."  
Allana paused, looking carefully between her mother and her aunt. She reminded Jaina so much of her brother Jacen at that age that it hurt sometimes.  
"It's alright, we can clean up after dinner," Jaina said. "Now, what did you want to show me?" she asked Allana as she allowed herself to be led up to the princess' playroom.

Allana's playroom looked more like Jaina and Jacen's childhood room on Coruscant than Jaina would have believed possible. Electrical components were scattered everywhere, mixed in between shredded pet toys and insect cages. Various animal holos covered the stone walls, taken from systems all over the galaxy.

Allana proudly pulled Jaina to her workbench. "Mom said that you used to make things for dad to take care of his pets, so I thought I would try my hand at it. I needed a project. It was boring here," she said.  
"And mom has been getting more worried about Anji since our camping trip a few months ago." Allana added, as an afterthought.  
Jaina looked down at the cloth ring that Allana held up to her. It was red, with a thick ridge in the center that held a wiring core. Dangling from the ring was a golden sphere with two colored diodes in the center. "Is it a collar?" she asked.  
"More than that!" Allana exclaimed. "It's a training collar. I've been reading all about animal training. Mom says we can even take a trip to Dathomir to see the tamed Rancors there soon."  
Jaina raised an eyebrow. She doubted "soon" meant the same thing to Allana as it had to Tenel Ka.  
Seeing the skepticism in her aunt's face, Allana picked up a remote and clicked a green button. The golden sphere on the collar made a clicking noise.  
"It clicks when Anji does something good. Then I'll give her a treat."  
"And what does the red button do?" Jaina asked.  
Allana pressed the button and a high pitched screech came out of the sphere. Jaina quickly covered her ears.  
"Anji doesn't like that noise," Allana said with a straight face.  
"I can imagine," Jaina replied, wryly.  
"What do you think? Do you want to try it out in the courtyard with me?" Allana asked.  
"I'm game … as long as we don't have to use that red button," Jaina replied.

* * *

Jag and Tenel Ka watched as Jaina disappeared up the stairs.

"How are things at the Academy?" Tenel Ka asked.  
"Busy," Jag said. "Jaina and I have mainly been working on training new recruits for the past couple months. We're too short on knights and resources. The Alliance is still distancing themselves as far as possible from the Jedi. Somehow they expect the Jedi to have an unlimited ability to show up where needed regardless."  
"And when they can't, the Senate uses that as further proof that the Jedi aren't working towards the Alliance's best interests," added Tenel Ka. "I have heard the arguments."  
Jag nodded. "How are things here on Hapes? I assume you're not actually on vacation," Jag said waving towards her dress.  
Tenel Ka shook her head. "No. I do not think Queen Mothers experience vacations," she said. "Hapes is doing well. It has been a quiet day, actually. I have only had four meetings this morning to sort out differences between the AlGreys and the Galneys."  
Jag had never heard Tenel Ka tell a joke, so he was left to assume that four meetings for powerful family squabbles must actually be a slow day.  
"I have heard that Vitor Reige is doing well in his rule over Imperial space." Tenel Ka added.  
Jag kept frequent correspondence with the man who he had endorsed for Head of State two years prior.  
"He is. I'm proud of him. His policies have been well received, and he's somehow managed to keep the Moffs from tearing each other apart long enough to get some things done." Jag replied.  
"That is good to hear." Tenel Ka replied. Her comlink beeped right as Jaina and Allana came down. "Excuse me, it seems there is another important matter to go over," she said as she turned towards her office.

* * *

After experimenting with Anji's collar for an hour or so, Tenel Ka's meeting ended and everyone met in the dining hall. Anji seemed surprisingly proud of her collar as she padded over to her bed. Jaina wondered if the nexu would still feel that way were the red button to be used.  
The heavy stone dining table was much too large for four people, and the room felt empty once the wait staff finished laying out the meal.  
Allana talked excitedly about her studies through most of the dinner. Jaina noticed that she never mentioned any other children. At least she was fond of most of her tutors. Tenel Ka seemed preoccupied, writing notes on her datapad and only occasionally bothering to eat.  
The staff began to bring out an elaborate dessert when Jaina felt a wave of shock radiate from Tenel Ka. She looked over just as the Queen Mother stood, quickly pushing back her chair.  
"There has been an attack in Chume'Dan. An explosion has destroyed Lorell Hall," she explained as she gathered her datapad and headed straight to her office. The others followed hurriedly behind.  
Jaina paused at the office doorway, unsure whether it was acceptable to enter, but Allana pushed right past her and stood by her mother's side, with Anji close behind her. With that display of solidarity, Jaina and Jag slipped in as well, right as the holoprojector finished connecting. A woman appeared, a woman who could nearly be mistaken for Tenel Ka herself if you weren't looking closely enough.  
"Queen Mother," greeted Trista Zel, Hapan intelligence operative and cousin to the Queen Mother.  
"Trista, what do you know of the attack?"  
"We've narrowed the perpetrator down to the cleaning staff. No one else had access. We still don't know motive."  
"Then you don't believe this was a typical assassination attempt?" Tenel Ka asked.  
"No, everyone was aware that you and your daughter were away. This must have been intended as a warning."  
"And a show of power," countered Tenel Ka.  
"But from who and for what?" Jaina asked, stepping forward.

Trista's transmission cut out for a moment before she replied. "We're getting interference. One …"

A human woman's face appeared, with silver hair and stern expression. "Rulers of the worlds: We demand your attention. We have requested it nicely before, but it has never been granted. We have learned. We will make no more requests. We speak to you now in the only language you understand: Destruction."

The face changed to a pale blue Twi'lek man. "You are the heroes, the famous, the royalty, of our galaxy. You fight amongst each other, and all that results is the suffering of the people."

The Twi'lek face shifted into the face of a creamy pink, female Mon Calamari. "We are tired of the childish squabblings of a few families wreaking havoc upon all of ours."

A young, white furred Bothan spoke. "Skywalker, Solo, Fel; How many battles have surrounded these names? Jedi, Sith, Imperial, Rebel; These titles are nothing but finger pointing in the civil wars of the powerful."

Jaina began to feel queasy, and placed a hand on Allana's shoulder, pulling her close to her side.

"How many worlds have been destroyed by you, the protectors of the people, and your allies?" said a brown skinned human, with an Imperial insignia on his cap.

"Our children have fought and died under heroes for too long. Our suffering is the legacy of the famous, yet our names will never be heard. Our stories will never be sung as ballads in cantinas. We will not have lavish state funerals. We will not be revered in holodocumentaries," said a deep-jowled Sullustan.

"So, today, we bring you the destruction you and your allies have recklessly delivered to us for so many years. Today, you will suffer for your names the way we have suffered under them," said an Arcona.

"We will not stop until those who help the famous have reconsidered their loyalties. We will not stop until the common people have regained their strength. We will not stop until the power in this galaxy is equalized," said a Zabrax.

"You will not hunt us down," said a Barabal.

"because we are everywhere," said female Chiss.

"We are everyone," said a blue-haired Zeltron.

"We are your servants," said a Gand.

"your soldiers," said a Devaronian.

"your pilots," said a Duros.

"your doctors …" said a Chadra-Fan.

"… And even your droids," said a red protocol droid.

"This is just the beginning," the first woman said as she reappeared. "We are the nameless, and we will suffer under the weight of the famous and the gifted no longer."


	3. Chapter 2

**46 ABY, Muunilinst**

Vitor Reige, Head of State of the Imperial Remnant, and Rece Tonith, recently appointed Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, had been discussing the Imperial financial accounts for four, incredibly long, hours.

Jedi Knight Tahiri Veila still hadn't determined why they had both asked for her services as a Jedi mediator on the matter, and she was beginning to think it was a cruel joke on the part of the Jedi Council. Certainly there were serious disagreements at hand, but Tahiri was hardly a diplomatic expert. Her years working as a bounty hunter left her much better suited for handling a wide array of missions that didn't involve impatiently tapping her stylus against an iron tabletop as two men discussed the accuracy of the Empire's financial reports.

"You state again and again that none of your trusted advisors would falsify information to raise the overall impression of their department's skills. I find that difficult to believe. You must admit that Imperials have a reputation for protecting their own, yes?" asked Rece Tonith, his long gray face unreadable.

Vitor Reige was preparing to repeat the same explanation for the third time, when loud explosions sounded from the hills visible through the conference room viewport. Tahiri watched as smoke billowed upwards from several green stone buildings on the distant hill. Tonith stood, turning, just in time to see a larger explosion erupt, causing the collapse of one of the larger buildings as the pillars on the front facade all crumbled down. He turned around abruptly with a horrified expression. Tahiri had never seen so much emotion on a Muun face.

"Head of State Reige, the IGBC does not respond positively to threats or violence," Tonith said with as much aplomb as he could muster.

Vitor started, then shook his head. "Trust me, the Empire has no connection to this." Then he added, nodding towards Tahiri, as they all watched the distant Muun police vehicles rush towards the scene, "But we'd be happy to help find out who does." 

* * *

Tahiri and Vitor stood at the edge of the crime scene as the local law enforcement briefed Tonith on what had transpired. Vitor appeared regal and calm in his military uniform, his short black hair only beginning to gray now, after a year in office. His face betrayed no sign of feeling over the turn of events that had overtaken this meeting. Meanwhile, Tahiri felt out of place with her loose Jedi robes, long blonde ponytail, and light sandals that she wore only as a concession to the Muuns distaste for bare feet. She marveled at the order and calm which pervaded Muun society, and with which the lithe, grey Muuns began cleaning up the square. None of the citizens gawked, or clamored to get through the barricades. No one shouted, or hassled the law enforcement about the closed off walkways. Everyone just kept going about their business as if all was normal.

Tonith walked over, straightening his austere robes. "It appears that terrorists have broken into our low security vaults, stealing several extremely valuable relics," he said.  
"Reclaiming their history?" Tahiri asked, thinking of the numerous Jedi relics being held in museums around the galaxy.  
If the Chairman was offended, he didn't show it. "The relics don't appear to be connected in any way culturally. They're from all over the galaxy. The one thing they have in common is how many credits they'll most certainly be worth on the black market."  
"A simple robbery then," Vitor said.  
"There was nothing simple about it. Our vaults are impenetrable to explosives." Tonith scoffed. "The thieves had low security level IGBC access codes."  
"Then why …" Vitor began, waving his hand at the visible destruction.  
"To sow confusion," Tahiri offered. "But it doesn't seem to have worked as well as they may have hoped," she said, looking around.

A loud gong chimed through the square. "That's the announcement of an important news broadcast," the Muun told the visitors as he pulled out his data pad and turned to Muunlinst's HoloNews channel. A Muun news anchor flashed briefly on the display before a human woman's face appeared, with silver hair and stern expression. "Rulers of the worlds: We demand your attention …"

Tahiri felt a tug in her mind encouraging her to look behind her, right as a gray blur slipped into a side alleyway to her left. She ran after the blur without even a moment's hesitation. Sometimes one had to trust the Force in these things. The Head of State and the Chairman would just have to understand.

She saw no sign of the runner as she rounded the corner into the alleyway, but trusted her instincts and kept running, turning left, away from the scene of the crime, as she exited the alley. She ran past orderly stalls and carts, watching the crowd, until she saw a grey cloaked head turn her way, and then bolt down the street, knocking several lighter Muuns out of the way as it moved. Tahiri quickly assessed that the figure was not a Muun, much too short. It was standard height for a human, although a bit on the small side.  
The figure darted sporadically through the crowd, nearly losing Tahiri a few times in the sea of grey skinned Muuns doing business. But Tahiri was much too fast, and her hunting skills much too honed to lose this one. She saw a grouping of shops coming up. If she could just corner the runner in-between those stalls, there would be no way to get away.  
The figure ran exactly where Tahiri wanted her. But she wasn't counting on the runner waving to one of the shop owners and being welcomed right inside.

As Tahiri slowed and jogged up to the storefront the Muun slammed the heavy door in her face. She sighed and squared her shoulders. "Guess I get to do this the hard way," she muttered, before pulling out her lightsaber and beginning to cut. The thick iron offered little resistance to the bright blue blade.  
Once the door was out of the way, Tahiri vaulted down the shop staircase towards the basement and the only lifeforms she could sense, not even bothering to touch her feet to the steep steps. Feeling the tension in the room, she expected resistance, likely armed, so she was surprised to round a corner to find the Muun and the gray figure standing over terminals, hastily typing away. The room was warm, filled with ancient computers humming loudly. Blue screens flickered as Aurebesh characters scrolled by too rapidly to read.  
"Halt!" Tahiri shouted. They didn't even glance up. Jedi Knights did not usually find themselves so obviously ignored; Tahiri stared dumbfounded for a moment before reacting. Finally she walked over and reached for the gray figure, pinning the rebel to the table and pulling down the hood of the robe. A lithe Omwati woman with blue feathery hair, pale skin, and a scowling face stared back at her.  
The Muun behind Tahiri didn't stop typing for a moment to help her ally. In exasperation, Tahiri continued to hold the rebel down with her right hand, while she reached for her trusty blaster with her left hand and switched the setting to stun. She shot the Muun in the back while keeping her eye on her captive.

"Alright, time to talk," Tahiri said to the woman, as the Muun behind her crumpled to the ground. "What's your name and what's an Omwati doing involved in grand theft and terrorism on Muunilinst?"  
"We aren't the terrorists. You are." the woman replied quietly. "And we don't need names. We're the people. Everyone your lot has trampled on. We're more than any individual and you can't stop us."  
Tahiri sighed, "Listen, I don't care about your manifesto. Those relics aren't yours and I intend to get them back. Now are you going to be helpful? If not, I can always do this the hard way."  
The women pulled away with a brief expression of fear before it quickly melted into resolve. "See what I mean? I'm not the terrorist here. You should take a look in the mirror Jedi Veila." Her narrowed blue eyes drilled into Tahiri's green eyes for a moment before looking down. "But you won't, your kind never do."  
"My kind?" Tahiri asked, baffled. "I'm not the thief here. Are you about to tell me that robbery is a morally justified action?"  
"I'm not about to tell you anything," the woman said softly. "And I'm not going to go with you willingly, so you'll have to knock me out just like you did to my friend back there."  
Tahiri sighed. "I have a better idea," she said. She waved her hand at the woman. "You want to walk with me back to the bank."  
The woman just shook her head, and stared pointedly at the Jedi. "No. I really don't."  
Feeling frustrated, Tahiri tried to probe her captive's mind, but could only read disgust and sadness from her, not the usual sense of victory people displayed when they knew they could beat a mind trick.  
Finally she gave up trying. "Fine, have it your way," she said, taking out her blaster and stunning the woman at point blank range. "I didn't want to talk to you the whole walk back anyways."

* * *

"Lin Yux is an ex-student of the Galactic Alliance's Naval Academy on Coruscant," Nek Bwua'tu, Supreme Commander of The Galactic Alliance Defense Force reported to the IGBC Chairman, the hologram displaying his Bothan form in miniature, with both his prosthetic and real hand clasped behind his back. "She was discharged after only two months for lack of discipline and disrespect for authority. I deeply regret the damage that her actions have done to your infrastructure. Trust me when I say that the Galactic Federation will do everything within its power to stop these terrorist actions."

The Chairman paced carefully within the holoprojector's field of vision while replying. "The Imperial Remnant has already offered a team of their best Intelligence agents to assist us. Considering that this appears to have been orchestrated by one of your own reprobates, does the Alliance plan to offer similar assistance?" Tonith asked.  
"Rest assured, we'll be doing our own investigation into the matter. However, let me be clear, I've read over Yux's file. She isn't capable of the kind of orchestration you're seeing here. She may be a loose cannon, but she's a follower with low ambitions. You have a foot soldier. We're looking for the leader," Bwua'tu replied firmly.  
"Then I hope that we find that leader soon. The galaxy," and here the Muun paused to emphasize the next words, "and the Galactic Alliance, certainly cannot afford to have its financial center disrupted so significantly without recourse."

The Bothan's gray fur ruffled just enough to show his awareness of the intended meaning. "Understood, and agreed. My aides will keep you up to date on our findings," he said, nodding tensely, before ending with a traditional Muun leave-taking. "May you be endowed with a thriving business and prosperous trade." 


End file.
